BOSTON – It’s not like Jake Peavy didn’t have enough on his mind. He didn’t need to go up against a pitcher with serious intent on tossing a no-no Monday night at Fenway Park.

But that’s how it shook out, the way Cubs’ righthander Jake Arrieta took matters into his own hands. Arrieta got to two outs in the eighth inning with only a fifth-inning walk to blemish his outing, but the no-hitter eluded the ex-Oriole when Stephen Drew drilled a single to right on a 2-2 count.

It was Arrieta’s 120th pitch. He was done for the night and left to a raucous ovation. The Cubs would take a 2-0 lead to the bottom of the ninth. Arrieta struck out 10. He was just 0-3 with a 5.90 ERA against Boston. This time, he was almost pitcher-perfect.

The last no-hitter against the Red Sox was tossed by Seattle’s Chris Bosio in 1993. Ironically, Bosio is now the Cubs’ pitching coach.

"(Arrieta) kept every pitch out of the zone," said Dustin Pedroia. "We just ran into a guy at the top of his game. He located everything. He had great stuff."

"He was really moving the ball around well," said David Ross. "There’s a reason he has a low ERA." Arrieta is 5-1; his ERA dropped to 1.81.

In the bottom of the 9th, A.J. Pierzynski pinch-hit for Ross and singled against reliever Hector Rondon. But Brock Holt rapped into a 3-6-3 double play and Daniel Nava grounded out to finish it.

Arrieta created the buzz on a sweet summer night. "He wasn’t missing (with his pitches)," said Holt. "That’s the best I’ve seen since I’ve been up here. He had everything going for him."

You didn’t have to read the tea leaves to Peavy. He gets what’s going on. He was 1-6 with a 4.93 ERA when he threw the first pitch. Rubby De La Rosa was in Triple-A after a couple of impressive starts with the big club. Patience with the veteran Peavy had worn thin, at least with the fans.

He desperately needed a solid outing, and the Cubs seemed as good a team as any to steer Peavy back on the right track. The Cubs’ team average is .232. Not that Boston’s is way better (.243).

The good news was that Peavy was 7-4 lifetime against the Cubs with a 2.76 ERA. The bad news: Last time he faced them, May 30, 2013, pitching for the White Sox, he gave up six runs in four innings at Wrigley Field.

Peavy (1-7) went six innings giving up five hits and the two runs. He walked two ands struck out seven. "He kept us in the game," said Holt.

Page 2 of 2 - Nate Schierholtz’s two-run homer, his fourth of the season, gave the Cubs a 2-0 edge in the fourth. Peavy had fanned the first two batters in the inning before walking Wellington Castillo after he had drilled a deep foul to left that exited the park. Holt chased Schierholtz’s drive to the bullpen wall, leaped, but wound up with an empty glove.

A sizzling double play helped Peavy in the fifth. With one out Chris Coghlan singled. He was on the move on a hit-and-run with Ryan Sweeney up. The ex-Red Sox hit a grounder headed to centerfield, but Pedroia gloved it backhanded and flipped it the same way to Drew for the force. Drew’s throw got Sweeney at first.

The execution brought the house down. There hadn’t been anything else to cheer about. The Red Sox were still hitless. Pedroia’s become quite adroit at the backhand flip, and Drew’s been an accomplished partner in it.

Third baseman Xander Bogaerts made a terrific play coming in on Darwin Barney’s roller, barehanded it and firing across his body for the out at first to end the seventh.

Manager John Farrell liked what he saw from his pitcher too. "Jake was really good. He’s had a number of good games with little to show for it. He had command of his changeup and his fastball was better than it was five days ago."

But the Boston offense is still lacking. "It’s got to come," said Holt. "Once it does, it’ll be a good thing."

The visitors had the game’s first threat. Peavy (1-7) struck out the first Cub in the second before Schierholtz doubled. But the veteran righthander got out of it by striking out Junior Lake and Barney.

NOTEWORTHY: According to Elias, in the 96 games David Ortiz and Pedroia have played together against the Yankees, Saturday night was the first time they drove in at least three runs in the same game against the Bronx Bombers… Clay Buchholz ("come on down!") faces Edwin Jackson Tuesday. Jackson’s having almost as bad a year as Buchholz…. Brandon Workman vs. Travis Wood in the Wednesday finale… The Red Sox get the Cubs and White Sox on this homestand. The Blackhawks were unavailable… Mike Carp turned 28 Monday.